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Re: Unisys DIFAX Update (Larry Riddle) (fwd)




===============================================================================
Robb Kambic                                Unidata Program Center
Software Engineer III                      Univ. Corp for Atmospheric Research
address@hidden             WWW: http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/
===============================================================================

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 07:46:41 -0600
From: Linda Miller <address@hidden>
To: address@hidden
Subject: Re: Unisys DIFAX Update (Larry Riddle)

All,

I think we know Larry well enough to know that he will raise this issue during 
the next Users Committee meeting.  We have spent more time on Difax than most 
other data issues.  As reported previously, the NWS still plans to shut Difax 
off as soon as NCEP has alternative methods.  The NWS and the forecast offices 
are not using Difax at all and supposedly it is just a drain on resources.  I'm 
hoping the UserComm does not ask us to negotiate a contract with Unisys.

Thanks for listening.  I just had to vent :-)

Linda

--On Monday, September 25, 2000 4:13 PM -0600 Unidata Support 
<address@hidden> wrote:

>
> ------- Forwarded Message
>
>> To: address@hidden
>> cc: address@hidden,
>> cc: address@hidden
>> From: Larry Riddle <address@hidden>
>> Subject: Unisys DIFAX Update
>> Organization: UCAR/Unidata
>> Keywords: 200009251454.e8PEsFb07085
>
> Here's an update to my suggestion that some of you might want to consider
> getting DIFAX from Unisys instead of Alden.
>
> Our current DIFAX agreement with Unisys ends on Sep 30.  I contacted Mike
> Porreca at Unisys to set up the next year's blanket purchase order for
> DIFAX.  He told me that there would have to be a price increase for the
> service.  That didn't surprise me, everything costs more today than it did
> yesterday.  Then he told me what the increase was and I was surprised.
>
> For educational institutions, the price is going from $300.00 per year to
> $3300.00 per year.  That's a modest 1000% increase.  He said it costs
> Unisys over $300.00 just to process the paperwork for one school.  It
> sounds as though they intend to pass the costs for their bad management
> practices along to their customers.
>
> Needless to say, we will not be getting DIFAX from Unisys next year.
>
> He did tip Unisys's hand a bit.  He said "Where else are you going to get
> DIFAX?"  Sounds as though they've been following the Alden epic, too.  And
> then he said "If Unidata were to contract with us, instead of individual
> schools, then the schools could get DIFAX for $300.00 per year."  The
> quotations are approximations, I never bothered to learn shorthand.  The
> dollar costs are exact, however.
>
> Sorry if I raised anyone's expectations.  I guess we'll just learn to live
> without DIFAX.  This is sad, because Dan Vietor has created a really neat
> PNG format version of DIFAX and it's as good as any other DIFAX product
> I've ever seen.
>
> Larry
>
>
>
> ---===---=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=====[\/]=====-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=---===---
> -----===(*  Climate's what we expect, but weather's what we get.  *)===-----
> Larry Riddle | Climate Research Div | Scripps Institution of Oceanography
> University of California, San Diego | La Jolla, California 92093-0224
> Phone: (858) 534-1869 | Fax: (858) 534-8561 | EMail: address@hidden
> http://meteora.ucsd.edu/weather.html
>
>
> ------- End of Forwarded Message
>



Linda Miller - address@hidden
External Liaison, Unidata
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
P.O. Box 3000
Boulder, CO 80307-3000
303 497-8646 fax: 303-497-8690
URL:  http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/staff/lmiller/un.act.html